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Human Serum Albumin
Human serum albumin is the serum albumin found in human blood. It is the most abundant protein in human blood plasma; it constitutes about half of serum protein. It is produced in the liver. It is soluble in water, and it is monomeric. Albumin transports hormones, fatty acids, and other compounds, buffers pH, and maintains oncotic pressure, among other functions. Albumin is synthesized in the liver as preproalbumin, which has an N-terminal peptide that is removed before the nascent protein is released from the rough endoplasmic reticulum. The product, proalbumin, is in turn cleaved in the Golgi apparatus to produce the secreted albumin. The reference range for albumin concentrations in serum is approximately 35–50 g/L (3.5–5.0 g/dL). It has a serum half-life of approximately 21 days. It has a molecular mass of 66.5 kDa. The gene for albumin is located on chromosome 4 in locus 4q13.3 and mutations in this gene can result in anomalous proteins. The human alb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Serum Albumin
Serum albumin, often referred to simply as blood albumin, is an albumin (a type of globular protein) found in vertebrate blood. Human serum albumin is encoded by the ''ALB'' gene. Other mammalian forms, such as bovine serum albumin, are chemically similar. Serum albumin is produced by the liver, occurs dissolved in blood plasma and is the most abundant blood protein in mammals. Albumin is essential for maintaining the oncotic pressure needed for proper distribution of body fluids between blood vessels and body tissues; without albumin, the high pressure in the blood vessels would force more fluids out into the tissues. It also acts as a plasma carrier by non-specifically binding several hydrophobic steroid hormones and as a transport protein for hemin and fatty acids. Too much or too little circulating serum albumin may be harmful. Albumin in the urine usually denotes the presence of kidney disease. Occasionally albumin appears in the urine of normal persons following long period ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medication
A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and relies on the science of pharmacology for continual advancement and on pharmacy for appropriate management. Drugs are classified in multiple ways. One of the key divisions is by level of control, which distinguishes prescription drugs (those that a pharmacist dispenses only on the order of a physician, physician assistant, or qualified nurse) from over-the-counter drugs (those that consumers can order for themselves). Another key distinction is between traditional small molecule drugs, usually derived from chemical synthesis, and biopharmaceuticals, which include recombinant proteins, vaccines, blood products used therapeutically (such as IVIG), gene therapy, monoclonal antibodies and cell therapy (for instance, stem cell therapies) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malnutrition
Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is "a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients" which adversely affects the body's tissues and form. Malnutrition is not receiving the correct amount of nutrition. Malnutrition is increasing in children under the age of five due to providers who cannot afford or do not have access to adequate nutrition. Malnutrition is a category of diseases that includes undernutrition and overnutrition. Undernutrition is a lack of nutrients, which can result in stunted growth, wasting, and underweight. A surplus of nutrients causes overnutrition, which can result in obesity. In some developing countries, overnutrition in the form of obesity is beginning to appear within the same communities as undernutrition. Most clinical studies use the term 'malnutrition' to refer to undernutrition. However, the use of 'malnutrition' instead of 'undernutrit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malabsorption
Malabsorption is a state arising from abnormality in absorption of food nutrients across the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Impairment can be of single or multiple nutrients depending on the abnormality. This may lead to malnutrition and a variety of anaemias. Normally the human gastrointestinal tract digests and absorbs dietary nutrients with remarkable efficiency. A typical Western diet ingested by an adult in one day includes approximately 100 g of fat, 400 g of carbohydrate, 100 g of protein, 2 L of fluid, and the required sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, vitamins, and other elements. Salivary, gastric, intestinal, hepatic, and pancreatic secretions add an additional 7–8 L of protein-, lipid-, and electrolyte-containing fluid to intestinal contents. This massive load is reduced by the small and large intestines to less than 200 g of stool that contains less than 8 g of fat, 1–2 g of nitrogen, and less than 20 mmol each of Na+, K+, Cl–, HCO3–, Ca2+, or Mg2+. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protein-losing Enteropathy
Protein losing enteropathy refers to any condition of the gastrointestinal tract (e.g. damage to the gut wall) that results in a net loss of protein from the body. Signs and symptoms The signs/symptoms of protein losing enteropathy are consistent with diarrhea, fever, and general abdominal discomfort. Swelling of the legs due to peripheral edema can also occur, however, if the PLE is related to a systemic disease such as congestive heart failure or constrictive pericarditis, then the symptoms could be of the primary disease development. Causes The causes of protein-losing enteropathy can include GI conditions (among other causes), like the following: Mechanism The pathophysiology of protein losing enteropathy is a result of plasma proteins loss, which enters GI tract ( lumen). PLE is a complication of a disorder, be it lymphatic obstruction or mucosal injury. In ''pediatric protein losing enteropathy'' there are several changes in epithelial cells causing PLE by augmenting the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nephrotic Syndrome
Nephrotic syndrome is a collection of symptoms due to kidney damage. This includes protein in the urine, low blood albumin levels, high blood lipids, and significant swelling. Other symptoms may include weight gain, feeling tired, and foamy urine. Complications may include blood clots, infections, and high blood pressure. Causes include a number of kidney diseases such as focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, membranous nephropathy, and minimal change disease. It may also occur as a complication of diabetes or lupus. The underlying mechanism typically involves damage to the glomeruli of the kidney. Diagnosis is typically based on urine testing and sometimes a kidney biopsy. It differs from nephritic syndrome in that there are no red blood cells in the urine. Treatment is directed at the underlying cause. Other efforts include managing high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and infection risk. A low salt diet and limiting fluids is often recommended. About 5 per 100,00 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liver Disease
Liver disease, or hepatic disease, is any of many diseases of the liver. If long-lasting it is termed chronic liver disease. Although the diseases differ in detail, liver diseases often have features in common. Signs and symptoms Some of the signs and symptoms of a liver disease are the following: * Jaundice * Confusion and altered consciousness caused by hepatic encephalopathy. * Thrombocytopenia and coagulopathy. * Risk of bleeding symptoms particularly taking place in gastrointestinal tract Liver diseases File:Ground glass hepatocytes high mag cropped 2.jpg, Ground glass hepatocytes File:Primary biliary cirrhosis intermed mag much cropping.jpg, Primary biliary cirrhosis File:Buddchiari2.PNG, Budd-chiari syndrome File:Non-alcoholic_fatty_liver_disease1.jpg, Micrograph of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease There are more than a hundred different liver diseases. Some of the most common are: * Fascioliasis, a parasitic infection of liver caused by a liver fluke of the genus '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hypoalbuminemia
Hypoalbuminemia (or hypoalbuminaemia) is a medical sign in which the level of albumin in the blood is low. This can be due to decreased production in the liver, increased loss in the gastrointestinal tract or kidneys, increased use in the body, or abnormal distribution between body compartments. Patients often present with hypoalbuminemia as a result of another disease process such as malnutrition as a result of severe anorexia nervosa, sepsis, cirrhosis in the liver, nephrotic syndrome in the kidneys, or protein-losing enteropathy in the gastrointestinal tract. One of the roles of albumin is being the major driver of oncotic pressure (protein concentration within the blood) in the bloodstream and the body. Thus, hypoalbuminemia leads to abnormal distributions of fluids within the body and its compartments. As a result, associated symptoms include edema in the lower legs, ascites in the abdomen, and effusions around internal organs. Laboratory tests aimed at assessing liver functi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rush University
Rush University is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. The university, founded in 1972, is the academic arm of Rush University Medical Center. Rush University comprises: * Rush Medical College * Rush University College of Nursing * Rush University College of Health Sciences * The Graduate College of Rush University Rush encompasses a 664-bed hospital serving adults and children, the 61-bed Johnston R. Bowman Health Center and Rush University. The campus occupies an site on Chicago's Near West Side, in the Illinois Medical District, which also includes its teaching hospital, Rush University Medical Center. History Founding of Rush University Rush University Medical Center dates back to March 2, 1837, when Rush Medical College received its charter. Daniel Brainard, MD, founded Rush Medical College in March 1837, two days before Chicago was chartered as a city. It took seven years from the granting of the charter before Rush Medical College opened officially on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bromocresol Purple
Bromocresol purple (BCP) or 5′,5″-dibromo-''o''-cresolsulfophthalein, is a dye of the triphenylmethane family (triarylmethane dyes) and a pH indicator. It is colored yellow below pH 5.2, and violet above pH 6.8. In its cyclic sulfonate ester form, it has a p''K''a value of 6.3, and is usually prepared as a 0.04% aqueous solution. Uses Bromocresol purple is used in medical laboratories to measure albumin. Use of BCP in this application may provide some advantage over older methods using bromocresol green. In microbiology, it is used for staining dead cells based on their acidity, and for the isolation and assaying of lactic acid bacteria. In photographic processing, it can be used as an additive to acid stop baths to indicate that the bath has reached neutral pH and needs to be replaced. Bromocresol purple milk solids glucose agar is used as a medium used to distinguish dermatophytes from bacteria and other organisms in cases of ringworm fungus ('' T. verrucosum'') infest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bromocresol Green
Bromocresol green (BCG) is a dye of the triphenylmethane family (triarylmethane dyes). It belongs to a class of dyes called sulfonephthaleins. It is used as a pH indicator in applications such as growth mediums for microorganisms and titrations. In clinical practise, it is commonly used as a diagnostic technique. The most common use of bromocresol green is to measure serum albumin concentration within mammalian blood samples in possible cases of kidney failure and liver disease. Properties In aqueous solution, bromocresol green will ionize to give the monoanionic form (yellow), that further deprotonates at higher pH to give the dianionic form (blue), which is stabilized by resonance: : The acid dissociation constant (p''K''a) of this reaction is 4.8. Tap water is sufficiently basic to give a solution of bromocresol green its characteristic blue-green color. The acid and basic forms of this dye have an isosbestic point in their UV-Visible spectrum, around 515 nm, ind ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Absorbance
Absorbance is defined as "the logarithm of the ratio of incident to transmitted radiant power through a sample (excluding the effects on cell walls)". Alternatively, for samples which scatter light, absorbance may be defined as "the negative logarithm of one minus absorptance, as measured on a uniform sample". The term is used in many technical areas to quantify the results of an experimental measurement. While the term has its origin in quantifying the absorption of light, it is often entangled with quantification of light which is “lost” to a detector system through other mechanisms. What these uses of the term tend to have in common is that they refer to a logarithm of the ratio of a quantity of light incident on a sample or material to that which is detected after the light has interacted with the sample. The term absorption refers to the physical process of absorbing light, while absorbance does not always measure only absorption; it may measure attenuation (of trans ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
